I have a well-equipped hobbyist shop with a lot of Festool and stationary tools. However, I'll be hitting the road to do a large kitchen at my parents' home. I'm doing the custom cabs (inset beaded face frames) from boxes to finish. I'll have all my Festool there, incl TS, Kapex, Of1400, Domino. I'll also have a portable planer and makeshift router table. I'm wondering whether I really need a jobsite tablesaw? At home I've got my cabinet saw which I could see using a lot, but for custom kitchen cabs with a lot of trim detail will I be able to get by without one? Thanks gang!
Do I need a jobsite tablesaw?
- Thread starter live4ever
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mastercabman
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I do a lot of kitchens
From specs homes to very big and high end homes
New construction/remodeling
I deal with factory cabs to semi custom to custom cabinets
For factory cabinets you really need a jobsite table saw
For custom I don't use my table saw a whole lot but it does happen
It's good to have just in case
Sometime designers/contractors makes mistakes and you need to be able to improvise
You may just need to rip 1x material or cut cabinets parts to fit a wall
You never know what you come across
So having a table saw is always nice to have
From specs homes to very big and high end homes
New construction/remodeling
I deal with factory cabs to semi custom to custom cabinets
For factory cabinets you really need a jobsite table saw
For custom I don't use my table saw a whole lot but it does happen
It's good to have just in case
Sometime designers/contractors makes mistakes and you need to be able to improvise
You may just need to rip 1x material or cut cabinets parts to fit a wall
You never know what you come across
So having a table saw is always nice to have
Brent Taylor
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I have been using a site saw for 40 plus years, a track saw is nice, but for some cuts a table saw is faster and safer. It doesn't have to be big or fancy, just needs to have a sharp blade and a decent fence. A good sled goes a long way to get good crosscuts and mitres.
John Beauchamp
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If you have a fairly complete shop at home with a cabinet saw, why don't you build at home and then just install them. How far is it to the job site? I have built complete kitchens and hauled them several hundred miles to install. I never do anything on site that I can reasonably do in my shop.
i think you ll be glad you did. i have the small dewalt that hangs on my paulk work bench...great combo....the dewalt has the power you need...the fence system is excellent and Rons table design expands its capability .Looking again at your plan to build...i would not hesitate.
Thanks guys, I'll look at picking up a DW745 probably. I was looking at the new Dewalts (7480, 7490), but I don't think I need the additional features or rip capacity of the new saws. The 7490 was attractive because it can take a dado (and I thought I might as well be able to if I'm investing in a second tablesaw), but it's $500 vs. $300 for a 745.
Regarding building at home (about 1.5h away - don't want too much back and forth though), I'll be doing the doors/drawer fronts and drawer boxes at home, but will build carcasses and do all finishing there. Face frames I haven't decided yet where I'll do.
Regarding building at home (about 1.5h away - don't want too much back and forth though), I'll be doing the doors/drawer fronts and drawer boxes at home, but will build carcasses and do all finishing there. Face frames I haven't decided yet where I'll do.
If you are not averse to applied mitered bead strips instead of jack miters you might want to look at the Cabinotch system for face frame cabinetry. The prices are reasonable and you have good control of case size. It's flat packed. It's not RTA but it assembles almost as fast as RTA and you don't need clamps. Just glue and a rubber mallet. It's made in the USA with domestic ply and it's not that much more than cases we would make from retail priced plywood and retail S4S faceframe material. You have a choice on face frame species and you can get prefinished ply.
You could get those cases installed quick. Countertops and backsplash and all the other stuff could be happening while you're making the doors and drawers.
You'd need a jobsite saw of course, to rip the bead strips after you route the beads.
You could get those cases installed quick. Countertops and backsplash and all the other stuff could be happening while you're making the doors and drawers.
You'd need a jobsite saw of course, to rip the bead strips after you route the beads.
fshanno said:
Cabinotch system is interesting, thanks for that - might be useful in the future. I'm married to going with jack miters this time around.
Ended up deciding on the DW 7490x. I want the saw to have dado capability so I'll have to pony up the extra for it. Don't need the stand it comes with as I'll be mating it with a Paulk workbench - hopefully can sell it and recoup a few bucks.
live4ever said:
I got the low end DW for $180 at Home Depot for Christmas. No dado, lower RPM's but it's worked out fine. Just used it yesterday to rip thing strips for door jams in walls where 1/4" paneling was replaced with drywall. 7' long strips at 7/16 x 9/16.
I'd have to agree that jack miters are the way to go. Your makeshift router table can't be too makeshift, you'll need a T-track in it anyway.
Locks14
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fshanno said:
When you guys moan about Festool being expensive in NA, just to make you feel better, the DW745 i.e. the low end saw you got for $180 is about £379 (cheapest price non-ebay) in the UK. So that's about $580 we pay for something you can get for $180. [eek]
cblanton42
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Something is off in the interpretation of numbers or maybe different saws. The DW 745 costs $299 at HD which is a new lowest ever price, $180 won't even buy a Ryobi....
crazydave789
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we don't do kitchens like you guys over there here its all MFC and MDF even for high end work but the tool that never let me down is my old dw710. I got it for doing bedrooms as it worked well with dust extraction and was easy to get upstairs, I ended up getting rid of a very heavy beckum kg500 because it never got used and kept putting my back out. I found the 710 light reliable, easy to use and more accurate compared to the flip saws. there are several table top saws out there but none with as big a table to work with.
the blade doesn't bevel was the only problem with it and all of its type but I rarely needed it and could usually get by with the odd rental when really necessary. I'd like a dw27112 to upgrade it but can't justify it untill the 710 blows up.
that said I am looking at a track saw and making an mft type setup as I've been asked to do some kitchens later in the year so will use my free time and the money to go back into tools as we're moving house and I have a few remodelling ideas.
the blade doesn't bevel was the only problem with it and all of its type but I rarely needed it and could usually get by with the odd rental when really necessary. I'd like a dw27112 to upgrade it but can't justify it untill the 710 blows up.
that said I am looking at a track saw and making an mft type setup as I've been asked to do some kitchens later in the year so will use my free time and the money to go back into tools as we're moving house and I have a few remodelling ideas.
cblanton42 said:
Date 1/30/2015
Amount $193.77
Transaction Type DEBIT
Transaction Description WITHDRAWAL POS 0130 1213 757613 910 EASTEX FREEWAY BEAUMONT TX
I noticed the sale right here on the FOG.
http://festoolownersgroup.com/other-tools-accessories/dewalt-dw745-$225-at-home-depot/
And at this link ToolGuyd.
In late Jan. they still had a couple in the box at my Home Depot and the price went down to $180. And that's when I bought it.
Don't know where Home Depot got that 16" rip capacity to the right. You can set it up for at least a 24" rip.
roblg3
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#TEE I'd like to understand your comment. I still use a tablesaw because it's faster for me on some things. But the tracksaw actually does more than any contractor or regular stationary table saw can. If I could have only 1 it would be no doubt be ANY tracksaw over even a high end sliding table saw. Portability wins. Space saving wins. Affordability wins. Ability to do more wins. I'm not sure what a table saw can do that a track saw can't. Maybe you can tell me? I'm seriously interested in hearing your reply, I like to learn!
crazydave789
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I agree that you can get by with what you have you just do it differently, you could even use a router/jigsaw/planer combo.
a table saw is good for repetition though.
a table saw is good for repetition though.
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